By Katherine Gould
This article appeared in the Summer 1998 edition of Zoo View. It is posted here with permission from the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. For more information about the Los Angeles, please visit their website at www.lazoo.org.
There was a small audience gathered one afternoon in early May for the World of Birds show. This small collection of parents and children had no way of knowing that they were among the luckiest of bird show viewers. But it was that day, May 6, when K.C., an Andean condor, first soared over an audience.
Andean condors, like their California cousins, are endangered. Because of the intensive breeding program the Los Angeles Zoo participates in with California condors, none of those valuable birds could be spared for public display in the show. Andean condors are more numerous, so K.C. and Leadbottom are able to showcase a condor's beauty and grandeur for audiences at the World of Birds.
Leadbottom, a male, has been a part of the show for years. He hops over the back of the stage, then flits from stump to stump on the stage, showing off his white feathery ruff, expansive wings, and shiny black and white plumage. Seen up close, he makes quite an impression on audiences.
But K.C. will easily upstage him. K.C. shows people something that few in the world will ever get to see anywhere.
"There are 38 California condors in the wild right now," says Lead Keeper Jon Guenther. "There's not much of a chance of an everyday person seeing a condor just fly."
Guenther worked with K.C. for months before she appeared onstage. It should be simple, this most natural of condor behaviors, but getting K.C. to soar on cue is tricky. Guenther began working with K.C. atop the hill behind the theater, teaching her that if she flew away from him and then back he would reward her with a piece of meat. She quickly learned to fly in a circle and return to him. Gradually, he moved down the hill, so that K.C. had to fly out of her box, circle, then meet him at another spot for her treat. Finally, Guenther moved all the way down the hill to the stage, and K.C. learned to fly out of her box, circle, and land on the dirt-covered stage for her treat.
What has been difficult is convincing K.C. that she must circle. Being a bird of greater-than-average intelligence, K.C. would prefer to make a beeline for her reward, rather than go through all the fuss of circling. So Guenther has to constantly work to reinforce the circling behavior.
In early May, Guenther decided that K.C. was finally ready to impress a crowd. There was a small crowd, so it wouldn't be too distracting for her. The wind was still, and it seemed that even the macaws hushed for the occasion.
When her release box opened, K.C. hesitated. Onstage, Keeper Julianne Reese jumped up and down, waving to K.C. and calling to her. Finally, K.C. jumped forward and opened her wings.
The audience had already seen another bird released from this site. Emmylou, the Harris hawk, had already soared toward them. K.C.'s size was startling by comparison -- 10 feet of wings, stretched out straight, catching thermals that rose from the ground. She circled directly over the stands. Craning their necks back, watching 10 feet of wings barely 100 feet over their heads, the audience let out a chorus of "Wow."
"I was awestruck at the magnificence of it," says Keeper Samantha Messer, one of the bird show performers. "I was very proud."
K.C. was flawless. She is now an irregular participant in the show. Consider yourself fortunate if you are lucky enough to see her.